Where you grow up will inevitably have an effect on you. This is especially true when you grow up in a big city. There are a lot of generalizations about kids who grow up in a big city, but not all of them are true and growing up in a large city does not mean that someone had less of a childhood. Growing up in a big city simply means that you had a different kind of childhood and you probably wouldn't trade it for the world.
One of the biggest differences about life in a big city is how you get around. When you're out in the suburbs or the middle nowhere, there's no choice but to drive. However, when you're in a city you are suddenly faced with choices. Sure, some people make the choice to drive, but as everyone from a busy city knows, driving can be quite an ordeal -- especially downtown. Public transit can be a great alternative.
Public transit conjures up a lot of terrifying images for people. While there is the occasional crazy person who starts rambling on about Nazis or something else, it's generally people just trying to get where they need to go. It can be way too crowded at times, but for people who grew up in a city, the words "public transit" aren't as fear-inspiring as they are for people who live in the suburbs.
If you lived in a city with especially good public transit, there's a good chance it took you way past age 16 to get a driver's license. And if you did learn to drive, it was probably a terrifying experience that has scarred you for life.
Growing up in a city also teaches you some valuable life skills. From a young age, you probably knew how to get around and this enabled you to become independent.
You're probably a pro at spotting tourists and/or people from the suburbs. You also probably either strongly dislike tourists or are simply blatantly apathetic; same goes for the suburbanites. Tourists also come with a lot of requests for directions, which some people relish and others pretend to be deaf simply to avoid.
Being from a city also means that you're spoiled.
No, not like your parents spoiled you, but in a much different way. The city spoiled you. You never had to worry about if your favorite band was going to stop in your city when they went on tour because they probably always will. You grew up going to museums that people travel hundreds of miles to see. You had the chance to see live theater, operas, and dozens of other things, some of which you were forced to go to on school trips.
It's also true that you probably took the amazing parts of growing up in a big city for granted, but you're grateful now.
Even if some people claim that growing up in a city isn't the best for children, those who grew up in a big city know that there isn't such a thing as a perfect place to grow up. Growing up in a city is amazing and it's something that many people have loved.
